Stockholm, Sweden
Stockholm, Sweden: We
sleep with the veranda door open, and we were nearly blasted from our beds
this morning around 5 am by the ship's horn! It was so foggy that the
Captain had to blow the horn every minute. Even with the door closed, it was
impossible to sleep through. People were up very early this morning!
We enjoyed breakfast (don't want to miss a meal) in the dining room - our
first time to eat breakfast in the dining room during the cruise - and
waited for the crowds to die down before hitting the streets.
And, here she is:
The Delicious Dagmar, with me
At around 10 am, we split a cab with a couple from Los
Angeles which left us in the center of Stockholm. What a lovely city! So
tidy! So clean! Oh, I just adore organization and was most impressed with
the Swedes. Our first stop was the Royal Palace. The official residence of His Majesty the King was
constructed in the 18th century. The Swedes are much more subtle than the
Russians - their palaces are elegant without all the gold lacquer. I am
sorry, but photography is not allowed in the Royal Palace, so I hope you can
look at the website. On our tour today we saw the Crown Jewels (a whole lot of jeweled crowns) and then toured through the State Apartments
and saw all the Orders of the Whatever. The Palace itself was quite
impressive and I especially enjoyed the collections of Royal China, Royal
Silver and Royal Knickknacks. At noon, we went outside to watch the Changing of the Guards. There was a parade with horses and soldiers
and music leading into the inner courtyard of the palace, followed by the
pomp-filled ceremony.
The Royal Palace
Changing of the Guards
Changing of the Guards
We spent several hours walking through the Old Town.
Prices are steep in Sweden - tax is 25% - but goods are of the finest
quality. DT and I had lunch at a little sidewalk cafe. The food was decent,
but it was just nice to sit down for a while and watch people pass by.
Crowded Stockholm street
After lunch we hopped on a city bus to the Vasa Museum. In 1628
the Vasa sank just after leaving port (bad design, not enough
ballast and the King rushed the building because he was anxious to fight
Germany) and the ship rested on the bottom of the sea for 333 years. The Vasa was found basically intact. Carefully raised and preserved, the Vasa now is on display inside a beautiful, huge museum.
The Vasa
Close-up of the back of the ship...
...and what it looked like when it sailed from Sweden in 1628
The Vasa
The Vasa Museum is done very well. Most
fascinating to me where all the objects found on board. Most of the sails
are still there, though only in fragments. Twenty-five bodies were found -
some people survived, but the ship sank in one minute. Dishes, metal tools,
shoes and clothing - all were found at the bottom of the sea. The museum has
life-sized displays of some of the ship's rooms. DT was definitely too tall
to work on the Vasa! We went to the 25-minute documentary movie. It
was in Swedish, with English sub-titles and we both fell asleep, so decided
we had better take a taxi back to the Regatta.
This afternoon, we had to pack! The two weeks have gone so fast, but we both
agree this is the best cruise and best ship we have ever sailed. We had
another exceptional meal in the dining room and then went to listen to Tonee
Valentine sing his new number. Of course, my Doo-Wah girl talents were
needed again! This time, they even turned on the microphone.
Belting one out on the Regatta
Note to readers: The next morning we took a
taxi to the Stockholm Airport and flew back to Helsinki, Finland where we
stayed for twelve days to watch the World Track & Field Championships. I
will leave you here... unless you really have a desire to read about twelve
days of running...